Palm Springs

A graduate of USC with a Masters in Public Administration, Bob Hughes has a wide variety of entrepreneurial experience from founder and publisher of Orange Coast Magazine– a glossy lifestyle publication of Orange County, to founder and President of Hughes Ad House–the largest mall catalog publication agency in 50 states …

Paul Fleszar is the owner of Par-Tee Golf, the premier golf reservation agency in the Coachella Valley.  Par-Tee Golf is the largest purveyor of tee-times in the golf mecca of Coachella Valley, supplying courses valley-wide with invaluable commerce. Paul lives in Palm Springs with his family. Paul, you’re kind of …

There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby I kept thinking of the above quote during my most recent …

Emmy Award-winning reporter Hank Plante has covered California for three decades for TV stations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Hank has has worked in broadcasting for stations including KPIX TV (CBS 5) in San Francisco, and in print journalism, including at The Washington Post. His awards have included several …

Josh Herman serves as Regional Director of Marketing for KSL Resorts, a unique collection of destination Golf, Spa, and Ski Resorts, where he has multiple property marketing oversight. KSL Resorts holdings include Hotel del Coronado, La Costa Resort and Spa, Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa, Montelucia Resort & Spa, The Homestead and …

John Wessman is president, founder and owner of Wessman Development, a company engaged in the development and subsequent holding and property management of shopping centers, office buildings, and residential projects in the Coachella Valley. For more than 40 years, John has been a leader and visionary for development, management and consulting for commercial, municipal and residential real estate projects within the Coachella Valley. He started as a general contractor in 1963 and formed his own development company in 1982. John has a strong affiliation with a number of local institutions, where he has served in various leadership capacities--CEO of the International Film Festival in Palm Springs, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Board member, and the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce, to name a few.

Mayor Steve Pougnet has been a resident of Palm Springs since 2001, and has served as an elected official since 2003 when he was first elected to City Council. Elected Mayor of Palm Springs in 2007, Steve is currently serving his second term in office. His accomplishments include creating and launching Palm Springs’ Hotel Incentive Program, which resulted in over 1,000 jobs, $150 million in economic investment, and 1,600 new hotel rooms. Also notable is the initiation and adoption by City Council of the City’s Sustainability Master Plan which includes a report card to ensure that it is an actionable blueprint for making Palm Springs greener and more energy-efficient.

Mary Jardin is the co-founder and Director of Marketing for The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, a theatrical revue of music, song, and dance, from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s...performed by a cast old enough to have lived it. In 2006, Mary received the Palm Springs Athena Award, given annually to notable women in the community for professional excellence, public service and active assistance to other women. She's currently serving as the 2012 Athena Awards chairwoman. In May of 2007, she was recognized by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who honored the Follies as the 37th Senate District Small Business of the Year, selected by Senator Jim Battin, who stated, "The Follies exudes entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, hard work and dedication, the very elements that make small businesses the backbone of our state." Currently Mary sits on the Executive Committee for the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism and is on its Marketing Committee, is a member of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and is a member of the Leisure Sales Committee of the Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention and Visitors Authority.

Jean-Claude Constant is the Owner/Host of Pomme-Frite, a restaurant specializing in French & Belgian Cuisine. Jean-Claude brings the ambience of a cafe in Brussels in his native Belgium to the heart of downtown Palm Springs.  Jean-Claude, you opened Pomme-Frite in 1999, and I have enjoyed dining there ever since! What …

Palm Springs City Councilmember Paul Lewin is the third generation of his family to call Palm Springs home. His parents and grandparents owned the iconic Adagio Galleries and B. Lewin Galleries in Palm Springs for decades. Paul began working in the family business in 1985, at age 14, starting as …